a team that shares my drive and commitment. that's why i serve in the united states coast guard. maybe you were born ready. find out at gocoastguard.com. >> you're watching "teen kids news." and here's what's coming up. >> fast food -- the good, the bad, and the ugly. we'll have a survival guide. >> once known as the bad boy of tennis, john mcenroe is helping to turn out good young players. >> looking to adopt a dog? i've got the tips you need to know. >> which u.s. state would like to be your valentine? we'll get to the heart of the matter in this week's "flag facts." >> i'll tell you about some texas teens who share an extraordinary gift. >> coming up, i'll show you how to go from the fleece of a sheep to the wool of a scarf.

>> that and lots more, right now on "teen kids news." >> welcome to "teen kids news." i'm mwanzaa. >> and i'm siena. here's our top story for this week. >> it's no secret that american teens need to get healthier. but that can be a challenge, especially because a lot of us like eating in places where food is fast and cheap. nicole tells us why some fast food can be a fast route to health problems later in life. >> i like cheeseburgers and fries. >> i'd have to say french fries. i like french fries. >> if i could find a really good hamburger... >> my favorite fast food would be onion rings because they're just really delicious. >> it tastes great, and it's

pretty affordable. so what's the problem? >> well, there is a problem, but only if we're eating too often in fast-food restaurants, or we're making choices that aren't as healthy for us in a fast-food restaurant. yes, notoriously, fast food can be high in fat, calories, sodium, and missing some other great nutrients. >> colleen thompson and ellen shanley are dieticians -- experts in nutrition, especially when it comes to fast food. they even wrote a book about it, "fueling the teen machine." >> we thought that teens were at a point where they're really inquisitive about things, and food and nutrition happens to be one of them. they're asking lots of different questions. we thought it was important to write a book geared to the teen, addressed to them, telling them the facts. >> just what is fast food? >> fast food is really anything we grab and go, right? you're running on the go, you grab something that's convenient, that's quick, and usually affordable -- could be a burger and fries, could be a tall latte and a muffin, could be a humongo-gulp and a hot dog.

>> so what are the top four things we need to beware of? >> we think of number four being sugar, specifically added sugar. when teens go to fast-food restaurants, most frequently they buy soda, and soda is loaded with sugar -- lots of empty calories. so, not really a good choice. >> what's number three? >> the next one is fat. we all know that fast food does have a lot of fat in it, especially saturated fat, and that's the unhealthy kind of fat. so watching out for how much fat you have at lunchtime, at any meal, and certainly fast food is one culprit. >> okay, what's next? >> number two is really fruits and vegetable, and it's the lack of fruits and vegetable. if you eat a meal at home with a family, you're most likely having a balanced meal. when you go to the fast-food restaurant, there aren't many fruits and vegetables offered. >> and public-enemy number one is? >> it's probably the portion,

right? super-sizing -- everywhere you go, americans are being -- and teens included -- are being pressured, i think, to choose the value meal. for just a few dollars more you get a lot more food, but that's a lot more calories, a lot more fat, a lot more than you need. so the solution may be to share your portion with somebody else -- make your best friend save a dollar. >> look, no one is saying that you can never have fast food. eating it occasionally can be a reward, but eating it regularly could be a risk -- a health risk. for "teen kids news," i'm nicole. >> stay with us. there's a lot more coming up on "teen kids news." >> we'll be right back. the talk. [announcer:] new revlon® photoready 3d volume™ mascara the round tip brush coats even the tiniest lash. the innovative formula reflects every lash... for a 100% more magnified look.

>> when it comes to adopting a

dog, there are a lot of things you may not realize are important. hannah reports on what you need to consider before adding a new four-legged friend to the family. >> they're known as man's best friend. but not all are lucky dogs. some spend long days in animal shelters just waiting to be adopted. that's where andrea arden and the experts at new york's animal haven shelter come in. they have one goal in mind -- to give these dogs a new "leash" on life. >> i think any place you go to adopt a dog, you're doing a good thing -- you're saving a dog's life. anybody who works with a shelter or a rescue group wants people to come in and adopt the animals -- that's the reason we're here. we also want to make sure that people adopt when it's appropriate for their family. >> so to do that, here are some things to think about. >> are you an active family, or a more sedentary or quiet family? because you want to make sure you choose a dog who is a good match in regards to their energy level and their exercise requirements. >> you also need to consider where you live. >> so, for instance, if you live

in the city, a smaller dog or even a larger dog that doesn't require a lot of exercise is probably a good choice. if you live outside the city, a dog that needs a lot of exercise, that can run around, is probably a great choice for you. so you need to weigh all of those options. >> another important factor is age. >> everybody wants a puppy, and i totally understand why. puppies are wiggly and adorable, but i think that there's a lot more benefit to adopting an adult dog if only for the fact that you have a better chance of getting to know the dog's temperament, whereas with a puppy, it's not as easy to recognize what the dog's personality is like. plus, in general, it's easier to house-train an adult dog than a puppy. >> adopting isn't just making an emotional commitment. it's also a financial commitment. >> a lot of people walk into shelters and get a dog and don't think about the possibility that in a couple of months, the dog might have some medical issue or any other issue. so you need to save or at least know that you have the financial

capacity to keep the dog if something were to happen. >> most dogs end up spending more than a week waiting to be adopted. during that time, the people at the shelter usually get to know the dog pretty well. so don't forget to talk to them. >> probably the most important questions to ask at a shelter are things in regards to the dog's temperament -- that is, their personality. >> and here's one more thing to add to your adoption "do"-list. >> you really want to ask the shelter what they offer in regards to vaccinations, what they offer in regards to behavior and training advice, what they're gonna do to essentially help you to ensure that this is gonna be a forever adoption. >> i know it sounds like a lot of work, but trust me, it's worth it. >> there are 50 of them, and each one has a story. here's scott. >> in 1910, a national rifle competition was held in ohio.

that's when the members of arizona's rifle team realized they were the only ones without a state flag. but, then, arizona wasn't a state yet. that would take another two years. in 1912, arizona became our 48th state, the last in the continental u.s. to join the country. and finally, arizona got its flag. >> arizona is one of my favorite flags. actually, the last five states added to the union used very simplistic, distinctive designs, and arizona is one of those. it's known as the "copper star flag" because copper mining was so popular in arizona. >> arizona still produces more copper than any other state in the nation, but it's also known for its magnificent natural beauty. >> since arizona's in the west, there's a reference to the setting sun, with 13 beams of sunlight. the number 13 is chosen as a reference to the original 13 colonies. >> beams are red and gold like an arizona sunset, but they're also the colors of the spanish

conquistadors -- arizona's first european visitors. beneath the rays, a large field of blue represents loyalty. by the way, arizona is sometimes called "the valentine state" because it was admitted to the union on february 14th -- valentine's day. with "flag facts," i'm scott.

>> you want to w back behind your head, okay? and the racket face is gonna brush up... >> this is the john mcenroe tennis academy on randall's island. john was one of the greatest players to ever swing a racket. his brother mark says that john started the academy to share his love of the sport. >> john's idea is, he wants to bring the buzz back to tennis and create an excellent training environment for kids. >> young players get guidance from world-class athletes like gilad bloom. >> i learned the game from very

good pros that had passion, and i got hooked on it, very much like what i'm trying to do here to the kids -- get them hooked on the game so they come back. >> the coaches are all amazing. they really motivate me, and i want to just become a better player. >> i can see how it impacts their lives when they improve and when they achieve goals. and i can see how they become stronger and more ready for life. >> played with either two or four players, the basics of tennis are pretty simple. you want to hit a ball that your opponent can't return. >> you win four points to win a game, you need six games to win a set, and you need two sets to win a match. >> sounds easy, but mastering the skills to win at tennis takes a lot of work. >> one, two, hit on three. one, two, hit on three. one, two, hit on three. >> working six hours a day and

moving side-to-side on the court, it makes you really tired and sore. >> the game is not just physically demanding. >> the mental aspect is great, but you also have to be very physically strong. and it just takes a lot, but it also -- just, there's a certain art to it. >> discipline plays an important role both on and off the court. >> i definitely learned a lot about being patient in tennis, and that carries over to my life when i have to be patient with my siblings or with my parents or even with my friends. >> tennis influenced me to work hard every single day in school, which, you know, influences my grades. >> a sport that can actually help improve your grades. as they say in tennis, "game, set, match." >> okay, everyone, it's time to find out what teens think. here's our "speak of the week." >> we've all heard the poem that

starts with "'twas the night before christmas," but can you name all of santa's eight reindeer? >> um...rudolph, blixen. um...oh, my gosh...nixon. >> dancer, prancer, blitzen, dasher, cupid, donner, rudolph, and...oh, no! >> um...like, snowy...uh... >> dasher, donner, blitzen, vixen, rudolph...comet, cupid... uh... >> rudolph is definitely one. >> prancer...what else? dancer, juan. >> ok, so, there's dancer and prancer and comet and vixen and... rudolph wasn't one, right? >> okay, guys, nice try, but here are the right names --

and did you know the original name of the poem was "a visit from st. nicholas"? it was published in 1823. for "teen kids news," i'm sam. >> why do people sigh? according to new research, it's not because of love or sadness. subjects in an experiment were given an impossible puzzle. when they couldn't solve it, they sighed. so it could be we sigh when we give up.

announcer: bring out... ...the action hero... ...in you. fuel up right. and get energized. be part of the greatest action movie ever. the first movie that puts you in the action. show us how you train and eat like an action hero. join in at actionheroalliance.com >> we all know teens who are stand-outs in academics. maybe you even know a pair of very smart twins. but erika has a story about quadruplets -- four siblings, each one of them qualified to join a club of intellectual superstars. >> they don't look exactly alike, but these teens have a very special bond -- they're quadruplets, very accomplished

quadruplets. for example... >> [ speaking mandarin ] >> ...patrick, thomas, and alanna learned to speak mandarin chinese. >> sister moria focused on learning sign language instead. what makes this unusual is that they started learning these languages before they were even in kindergarten. >> i was told that most kids entering kindergarten couldn't write everybody's name in the house, couldn't tie their shoes, couldn't read, and didn't have an understanding of two other languages. and i didn't know that. i thought that they had to have these skills to go into kindergarten. >> by the time they reached high school, the crowley quads had a high profile in their hometown of wylie, texas. >> sit! >> in addition to service projects like training guide

dogs, they've racked up a slew of accomplishments in academics, athletics, art, music, and scouting. >> ♪ time grabs you by the wrist... ♪ >> but they made history when they became the first set of quadruplets to be admitted to the american mensa. that's an organization for super-smart people. >> the only standard for being extended an offer of membership is to achieve a score in the top-two percentile on either a mensa-provided intelligence test or submitting prior evidence of a standardized test. >> and she should know -- natalie qualified for mensa when she was just a child. >> and the test wasn't even that scary. everyone's saying "i.q. test, oh, my goodness. do they, like, hook you up to, like, sensors or something?" no. >> no, it's just finding patterns and -- >> word association -- "what is cold?" "winter." "good job." >> one of mensa's goals is to help people who might feel isolated by their intelligence. >> occasionally, you're gonna be in school, or, you know, hanging

out with friends, and someone might put you down or say, "oh, my gosh, you know, you don't have to be that smart," or, "don't be a show-off." >> being a quad, gifted or not, comes with its own challenges. >> you can find out more about mensa by going online... i'm erika for "teen kids news." >> hey! let's play "word"... [ applause ] ...the game where you try to pick the right definition. here we go! "viscous" -- it could be... [ bell rings ] "viscous" means thick or sticky, as in, "that syrup is so viscous, your pancakes will get cold waiting for it to pour." you know this one? "peril." maybe it's...

[ bell rings ] "peril" is a dangerous condition. sleeping on the edge of a cliff puts you in peril. wake up! >> [ man yawns ] >> now this word... [ bell rings ] "fracas" -- noisy fight. [ children shouting ] kids! stop that fracas! your fight is so noisy, i can't hear "word"! let's review... and that's "word" for this week.

i hope you find a home. i hope you find a home. hey, maybe you'll be picked next. maybe you'll be picked next. we've been caged together too long. we've been caged together too long. how come nobody ever picks me? maybe they're looking for somebody different. pick me! well, the shelter's closing up for another day. we didn't get picked. i know. tomorrow. guaranteed.

>> the way woolen cloth is manufactured today involves a lot of complicated machinery and technology. but have you ever wondered how it was done "ba-a-a-ck" in the day? laura went to find out. >> visiting philipsburg manor is like traveling back to the mid-1700s. every year, the historic farm holds its sheep-to-shawl festival. it shows how colonists were able to make clothing and other cloth items out of a sheep's fleece. the first step is called shearing. >> this is a once-a-year activity -- what she's wearing is a one-year's growth, and that comes off around this time of the year. >> while the sheep clearly don't

love being shorn, it's not as bad as it looks. >> it doesn't really hurt any more than having your hair cut hurts. it doesn't really have any feelings in it. >> the trick to shearing is to remove the fleece in a single section. >> and the reason it's taken off in one big piece is because the best part of it -- what they call "staple" -- grows very thick. and that's the part that would be best for spinning and making into thread. >> the next step is one that can get a little tedious. it involves getting all the pieces of grass out of the wool. >> and so we take our fingers and we pick and we pick, and this is what children would be doing every single night. >> once the wool is picked clean, it's ready to be spun. >> i am right now using an 18th-century device called a spinning wheel to turn wool from our sheep into yarn. it's run by a treadle, and down here is my foot. and the foot controls this back arm, which runs the back wheel, just like a bicycle. i'm gonna pinch, i'm gonna pull,

stretch, and release. and that's gonna feed right into the machine. >> this device allows you to make a special type of yarn called tape. >> tape is used to tie clothing together, might be used for shoelaces, might be used for tying your jacket closed -- that kind of thing. and in case you're just "dye"-ing to know how they add color to the yarn, here's where that's done. >> in 1750, there would have been a lot of different kinds of dyes -- some local, which would have been affordable, and some imported, which would have been expensive. >> today, we use chemicals to create dyes, but in colonial times, all the colors came from mother nature. >> onion skins and daffodil heads -- very affordable, gives you beautiful yellows and golds, and you can mix them and overdye them like you do in art class. blue and yellow will give you a nice green. >> now the different-colored yarns are ready to be woven into cloth. this is our final stage. we are making fabric.

this loom has four harnesses and four pedals, and so, as i raise two of the pedals, we make what is called a shed, and that's what our shuttle goes through. when i change my feet, i change the threads on the warp, and then i'm ready to have the shuttle go right through again. and again, change my feet, so i've changed the warp threads. and there we go. and that's how it's done. >> so the next time you wear something made of wool, just think of all the steps that went into making it. at philipsburg manor for "teen kids news," i'm laura. >> that wraps up our show, but we'll be back soon with more "teen kids news." >> thanks for joining us, and have a great week.

>> here's a shout-out to american troops serving in afghanistan. 't the only place kids find drugs. sometimes they find them at home. you can help stop prescription drug abuse by safeguarding

medications in your home, encouraging friends and family members to do the same. and asking your pharmacist how to dispose of medications you no longer need. can you imagine a place where these grow everywhere? yes! it's called the forest... a magical place to enjoy with your family ♪ music so disver the forest and explore all the wonder that's there visit discovertheforest.org to find a forest near you please sir, i want some more. more? well he did say please... please and thank you.